I’ll admit it, I love analogies. I like to hear others versions, I like to give analogies and I enjoy thinking through similarities between analogical circumstances. That’s a mouthful! Michael Gray says over using analogies is like wearing dirty underwear, so I’ll keep it brief–no pun intended–seriously.

My daughter told me her tooth felt a little funny the other day and then she said it was fine.  Right! I looked in her mouth to check for any obvious signs of tooth pain-dark spots or wiggly teeth. All that could be seen was a tiny dark spot or crevice really. It may be a cavity, so we’ll have it checked out.

Then the wheels started spinning. I thought about how it’s really easy to ignore small dark spots in our lives or even in our businesses. But just because you ignore something doesn’t mean it goes away. Whether you are a leader or are taking someone else’s lead in your online job work it’s important to not overlook potential large scale problems. It may come in the form of a pesky relationship, poor customer service or staying silent about something that can be improved on. Address the issues at hand while they’re small and they won’t take over your business.

Staying on top of the dark spots will keep you ahead of the game and allow you to focus on what you do best-your job. It may be a little painful on the front end, but dealing with it now will prevent you or someone else from coping with a giant of a problem later on.